(Alexandria,VA) – Despite being thrown a barrage of knuckleballs, taxpayers hit anumber of homeruns this election season and can claim a larger victory forlimiting the ability of government to raise taxes, increase spending, andfurther burden Americans with debt. That’s the analysis from the 362,000-memberNational Taxpayers Union (NTU).
After 12 states consideredthousands of ballot measures over several weeks this fall, the scorecards arefinally in. NTU’s 2011 Ballot Guide tracked around 500 initiatives in Ohioalone and a plethora of measures throughout the nation which, taken together,provide a much more complete picture of the intentions of voters than scatterednews reports.
“The results clearly show thatvoters are in no mood to throw the spending spigots wide open or hand over moreof their hard-earned dollars,” said NTU State Government Affairs Manager BrentMead. “An important opportunity for savings was lost as Issue 2 was defeated inOhio. Yet, even San Francisco voted for savings from government, among a hostof positive ballot victories for taxpayers.”
As Mead noted, Ohio’s Issue 2,which would reform collective bargaining for public employees, failed. Yet those same voters overwhelmingly rejectedthe individual mandate in so-called “Obamacare” (the Patient Protection andAffordable Care Act) by a 65-35 percent margin. Ohio also saw a majority oflocal-level measures carrying new taxpayer burdens lose.
The biggest tax hike this yearfaced Colorado residents a week before most states even voted. Coloradansstruck down a combined income and sales tax boost (Proposition 103) by acommanding 2-1 margin, setting the tone for numerous upcoming votes.
Further victory for taxpayers comesfrom a surprising location, as San Francisco approved Proposition C, which willsave the city over $1 billion in public employee pension costs and defeated a0.5 percent sales tax increase – an important recognition from a liberalbastion that pension costs are unsustainable and new taxes are not acceptable.
Also out west, Washington voted toprivatize state liquor stores, which will remove that expense from taxpayers’backs, and voted to strengthen the budget stabilization fund. Washington failedto bat a thousand though, as I-1125, which would have prohibited transportationrevenue from being spent elsewhere in the budget, had a swing and (barely) amiss at 49-50 percent.
“In some circumstances where thepurpose and period of time were defined, voters were willing to raise taxes,”Mead concluded. “But the prevailing good news for taxpayers is that more taxhikes, spending provisions, and proposals to increase government power wereretired than scored.”
The 362,000-member NTU is a nonpartisan,nonprofit organization working for lower taxes, smaller government, andeconomic freedom at all levels. More information on NTU’s work, is available atwww.ntu.org.